Drapery hanger



Dec; 25, 1923.

R. B. DWYER DRAPERY HANGER Patented Dec. 25, 1923.

llNlpl'ED STATES RAYMOND B. DWYER, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

DRAJPERY HANGER. l

Application filed ctober 18, 1922. Serial No. 595,413.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, RAYMOND B. DWYER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Drapery Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to hangers for draperies such as portires and the like, and an object of the invention is to provide a simple and rugged hanger to which the fabric may be readily attached without sewing and wit-.hout the aid of pins or other fastening devices. It is also an object to construct the hanger in such manner that the hanger will be concealed. My hanger is double in the sense that two portires may be suspended from it or a single portire may be so attached as to conceal the hanger when viewed from eitherside; .In this connection, one of my objectsy is to provide attaching means which are independent on the two sides of the hanger. Still another object is to provide simple and easily operable means for imparting a pleated effect to the drapery.

I obtain my objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of the complete hanger.

Figure 2 is a side view of the hanger showing the drapery in place. The hanger is shown in'dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3, Figure 2, the curtain pole being illustrated in this ligure.

Figure'4 is a transverse section of the hanger, and

Figure 5 is la plan section on the line 5 5,

Like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views.

Generally speaking the device comprises a ring having upstanding members approximately tangential and having a bridge provided with spring terminals for'holding the fabric engaged with the upstanding members. rlhe actual construction may be considerably varied, but to describe the illustrated design; the ring is composed of two side members 1 rounded at the bottom and having an arch or circular to-p member 2 which completes the ring. At the bottom the side members have depending flanges 4 fastened together by an eyelet 6 or other appropriate device. As a structural detail the arch 2 may be secured in place by tongues 8', although soldering, spot welding or other process might in certain vcases be substitute The upstanding members 10 rise above the ring and are shown as approximately tangential with its sides. Their terminals form stationary jaws and are provided with inturned prongs 12 which register with and may enter corresponding apertures in the upstanding jaws 14 of the bridge 16. This bridge is fastened by an eyelet 18 or otherwise to the top of the arch 2, which by preference is flattened on top to receive it. The bridge is resilient and has two bows 2O which project out through openings 22 formed in members 10. The result is that they may be grasped between the thumb and forefinger and pressed inward to move the jaws apart and release the fabric'. By preference thev stationary members 1, 10 are ribbed to increase their stiffness.

Fastened to the flanges 4 at the bottom of the device are spring grips or jaws 24. which extend horizontally in both directions from the flange 4. They turn inward at the outer end to receive the fabric between them.

Their ends converge inward so that whenthe operator desires to attach the drape all he has t0 do is to force the fabric in between them, which represses the jaws or forces them apart until the fabric is in place, whereupon it grips them in the manner best shown in Figures 2, 3 and 5. This imparts a pleated effect as illustrated.

In practice when it is desired to hang a drape the operator presses inward on the bows 20, thus opening upV the jaws so that the upper edge of the drape may be inserted between them. The drape is then passed outward over the upper end of the upstanding members 10 and then permitted to hang down, passing the spring jaws 24, 26. It is not necessary, of course, that the latter be used, but they assist in adding to the appearance of the drape when hung. To employ them, all that is necessary is to take a? piece of cardboard and force the fabric between the 'aws In fact, by doubling up the fabric t e fold may be inserted by merely drawing into place between the jaws.

One of the important advantages of my present construction is that the device has great strength. The side members 1, 10 do not need to be resilient and hence may be made of thicker material, which to add to the stiffness may be ribbed as illustrated. 'Ihe only spring member is the bridge 16 with its bows 20 and movable aws 14. This may be made of lighter metal, especially as it performs little or no function 1n carrying the weight of the draperies. According to the illustrated design its chief function is to hold the fabric 1n engagement with the forks 12 on the stationary jaws. Another advantage of my present construction is that the jaws may be operated independently, and one pair of jaws may be opened up without opening up the other. This was not the case in my prior construction shown in my application filed December 30th, 1921, Serial No. 526,019. This permits one drape to be hung at a time, and after a drape is hung it will maintain its position while the second drape is being hung. It will also be observed that no puncturing or sewing of the fabric is necessary for takingadvantage of the pleating jaws 24, 26. The fabric is simply inserted between the jaws where it will remain until the jaws are forced apart to release the fabric.

Still another object of my device is that the lower jaws 24 which gain the pleating effect prevent the ring from toppling over, as it would do if the fabric were attached to only one ofthe upstanding members. The weight of a single drape would tend to rotate the device until the uppermost jaws extended downward from the ring, but with my device, which catches the drape at a point beneath the ring, this over-balancing or toppling is prevented.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A drapery hanger having a ring provided with uprights forming fixed jaws, and independently movable jaws adapted to cooperate with the fixed jaws.

2. A drapery hanger having a ring provided with upright fixed jaws, movable jaws adapted to cooperate with the fixed jaws to hold the fabric between them, the movable jaws having bows adapted to extend to points outside of the plane of the upright fixed jaws to afford ready access to the fingers of the operator.

3. A drapery hanger having a ring provided with upstanding fixed jaws having openings therein, and a spring member secured to the top of the ring and having bows extending outward throu h said openings, said bows terminating 1n movable jaws which face outward toward the fixed jaws for engaging the drapery between them.

4. A rapery hanger having a ring provided with upstanding fixed jaws having openings therein, and a sprin member secured to the top of the ring an having bows extending outward through said openings, said bows terminating m movable jaws which face outward toward the fixed jaws for engaging the drapery between them, and means below the ring for preventing overbalancing of the same when the drapery is in place.

5. A drapery hanger having a ring, means above the ring for supporting the drapery, and spring jaws below the ring for engaging the drapery, said jaws being open at the side whereby a fold of the drapery may be wedged in between them and a plaiting effect obtained.

6. A drapery hanger having a rin means above the ring for supporting the drapery, and spring jaws below the ring for engaging the drapery, said jaws being open at the side and converging inward and being toothed on the inside whereby a fold of the drapery when inserted from the side will be automatically engaged and a plaiting eiect will be obtained.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

RAYMOND B. DWYER. 

